Pawsitively Improvised

Animal House

Chapter 15

Sunday. The end of the weekend and the beginning of her anxiety levels. She was back to work in the morning, and it was not something to look forward to. It had been nice not having glares thrown her way every time anyone looked her way. Not to mention there was the restart of her swimming lessons. She wasn’t sure who she wanted to avoid more. Her jealous co-workers or Jude.

Claws in her pant legs brought her attention back to what she had been doing. B.B., Gismo, and Renaldo sat on the kitchen floor waiting for their food and treats for the evening. It had been B.B. that had lost his patience with her.

“I’m getting there jeez.”

Leave it to the cat to be the most impatient one. Balancing the dishes, she tried to set them all down at once. Thank goodness none of them were food aggressive. An animal fight was something she was not equipped to handle alone. She couldn’t wait for her cousin to come back for her fur babies. It was fun to pet sit but also completely exhausting. Mostly because of Renaldo’s and B.B.’s proclivities. At least her grandfather was out too. Having all three perverts together was not a challenge she would be up for. She hoped he was staying out of trouble at least. She was determined to keep her phone on her at all times just in case.

Gathering up the garbage bag, she glanced around to make sure she hadn’t missed any cans. Satisfied, she tied it shut. All the animals were busy eating, leaving her a small window of time to take out the trash. She would have to use the hallway shoot instead of running it outside. She didn’t trust the three of them alone for that long. Despite her sneaking to the door, she still managed to catch Gismo’s attention. Tail wagging, he followed her over, obviously thinking it was time for a walk. The other two were far too big of foodies to leave their bowls unfinished. She could contend with one.

“Go eat Gismo. I’ll be right back.” She shook the bag in front of him to deter him. His head cantered to the side clearly confused. “Go eat.” She pointed to the kitchen while making sure to be stern. Tongue lolling out, he trotted away wagging his tail as he went. She really needed to make it quick.

Leaving her apartment, she made sure the door was securely shut but not locked. She hadn’t snagged her keys knowing she’d only be out for a few minutes. The door to the shoot was at the end of the hallway. Five minutes tops. What could happen in that time? They were preoccupied after all.

Trash deposited, she headed back. Easy enough. That is until she tried to get back into her apartment. Instead of turning easily, the knob met resistance. She was sure she had left it unlocked behind her. It was stuck, that’s all. No matter how hard she twisted it, though she couldn’t deny that the lock was engaged. A sound of distress left her as she jiggled the door. She wasn’t sure what could have happened. Her thoughts became chaotic while trying to figure out what to do. She didn’t have a plan on how to deal with the situation. A muffled crashing along with a hissing could be heard through the door. The trampling of paws raced around the apartment.

“Don’t you guys do it! Do you hear me? Behave yourselves.”

She pounded against the door with the palm of her hand, hoping to draw the animal’s attention. She caught sight of a couple getting on the elevator while staring openly at her. She gave them a brittle smile as they walked out of sight.

‘Bang.’

The noise and vibration had her jumping away from the apartment. Sniffing was coming from the bottom of the door. One of the dogs had clearly run into it. Not that the knowledge helped at all. Neither of them was trained to unlock it any way. The scrambling of claws and another crash sent her heart rate spiking.

Glancing at her phone she noted it would be two hours yet before Crystal came to get her pets. She couldn’t wait that long to reenter the apartment. They would have it destroyed by then. She did the only thing she could. Call her cousin for help.

“Kira? What’s going on?”

“How did you know I was calling with a problem?”

“A mother’s intuition.”

“I’m locked out of my apartment, but the animals are inside alone. I can’t get in.” Her tone raised in pitch as she spoke the words as quickly as possible. She was met with silence on the other end that had her on edge. Bouncing on the balls of her feet, she stared her door down.

“Okay, Kira. The back-up property manager is on the way. Hang tight for a few.”

“Okay.” She barely whispered the word as moisture filled her eyes. Whether it was panic induced or from relief she wasn’t certain. She took some deep breaths as Crystal said her goodbyes. She needed to pull herself together before help got there. It wouldn’t do if she was a hysterical mess. Barking from behind the door distracted her. She recognized that bark. He was excited and that didn’t bode well for anyone at the moment.

“Renaldo! Don’t you dare. Behave! Do you hear me? Whatever you’re up to, stop. Renaldo!”

Yelling through the door wasn’t having any effect at all. She didn’t want B.B. to get angry with him. He would get hurt. The noise level was kicked up a notch. She was helpless to stop it. She needed to get in there.

“Excuse me, Kira.” The voice startled her. Not only because she hadn’t heard him approach, however.

“Jude?” Instead of responding, he moved between her and the door. Inserting a key, he had the door open in no time. Before she could say anything though, the both of them were bowled into. Jude reached out to steady her but got an armful of B.B. instead.

She managed to latch on to Gizmo, preventing him from taking off down the hall. He was the only one who tried, however. B.B. had half climbed, half leapt up Jude to get out of harms way. Renaldo, thwarted by the cat, found a new target for his adoration as he mounted Jude’s leg to her horror.

“Perhaps we should take this inside?” She groaned, anticipating the lecture to come. Her cheeks heated as she reached out with her free arm to dislodge her dog. Sneaking a quick glimpse at Jude didn’t help. His brow was quirked, and a smile tugged at his mouth as he fought to keep from laughing. Grabbing both dogs by the collars, she hauled them to either side of her back into the apartment. Jude followed close behind, closing the door before letting B.B. go. He whistled low as they both took in the destruction around them.

“If you wanted to invite me over, there are easier ways than this.” His voice shook with laughter as she glared not only at him but at the now calm animals that were sprawled across her furniture. The night was turning into a bit of a crap show, and she was the star.